The present invention relates to cleaning devices for cleaning medical and dental tools in general, and more particularly to a holder for supporting a beaker immersed in an ultrasonic cleaning device filled with a suitable cleaning liquid.
Ultrasonic cleaning devices for cleaning medical, dental instruments, dentures and the like have been known and typically include a housing with a container which holds a liquid and a transducer to generate and amplify vibrations through the liquid when the transducer is actuated. Medical or dental instruments or dentures are usually placed in a glass beaker in which a cleaning solution is placed. The beaker is then immersed into the container in the ultrasonic cleaning device. Ultrasonic vibrations pass through the liquid in the container and into the beaker. The vibrations shake loose the dirt on the instrument which can then be cleaned within the cleaning solution.
In order to hold the beaker, special templates and baskets have been designed. Typical is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,236. Since beakers are of different sizes to accommodate various number of and/or various size of medical or dental tools, a great number of such templates having different size openings for receiving the beakers have been required in medical or dental practice.
Furthermore, since the ultrasonic transducer produces standing waves which emanate into the container, it is preferable to space the beaker from the bottom of the container to avoid damping of the standing waves. Likewise, it is preferable to space the beaker from the walls of the container to prevent damping of the ultrasonic waves. In order to hold the beaker in this spaced relationship these templates or holders have included blocks or spacers to space the beaker from the bottom.
All aforedescribed arrangements are complex and time-consuming in use. They have to be assembled before use each time and must be adjusted to accommodate the different beaker sizes.
Accordingly, there is need for a beaker holder easily adjustable to beakers of different sizes and easily and inexpensively manufactured.